Background: The deficit of medical staff in various health care systems points out the need for a more detailed strategic management toward sustainability in human resources. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships linking self-esteem, self-efficacy, general attitudes, and career preferences among medical students, aiming to provide insights that could support sustainable career development. Methods: We performed a monocentric observational study that included 157 students. The participants completed four standardized questionnaires evaluating the self-efficacy, the self-esteem, the general attitudes and beliefs, and the perception of medical career specialty. We assessed the relationships between the psychological variables and career preferences. Results: Significant correlations emerged between the students' year of study and the need for achievement, the importance of mentorship, and career decision-making. Clinical students, in particular, placed greater emphasis on gaining practical experience in their chosen field. Conclusions: Our results reaffirm the impact of occupational psychology in the health care system, providing more sustainability in career decisions. Further research involving larger and more diverse samples is recommended to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how the study of various psychological factors could impact human resources management in the field.
Liver pathology represents, nowadays, a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Since MRI helps in limited cases in the differential diagnosis of various pathologies concerning liver tumors, other modern diagnostic strategies should be prioritized. Besides various tumoral biomarkers, contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) plays a substantial role in differentiating various liver pathologies due to its availability and specificity. Various contrast-enhanced substances used for CEUS assist mainly in detecting focal liver lesions and differentiating their malignant character. This review focuses on the main indications and limits of this novel investigation, considering that patients presenting with various liver pathologies are more challenging. We highlighted in our review the similarities with the CT/MRI imaging methods in reference to the specificity and sensitivity of the method, in its potential ability to detect various liver tumors. Moreover, the contrast agents used by CEUS are eliminated throughout the lungs, showing no evidence of hepatotoxic, nephrotoxic, or cardiotoxic events. In conclusion, the accessibility and safety of the procedure and the absence of the use of ionizing radiation point out that CEUS could be a stand-alone technique in the diagnosis and evaluation of complex liver pathologies.
